Rafael guastavino



(No Model.)

R. GUASTAVINO. AGlmsfrlwolloN 0F BUILDINGS.

No. 468,296. Patentedf'eb.l 2, 1892.

" y IHveM-Zor UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

BAFA EL G ASTAVINO, OF NlllV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE GUSTAVINO FIRE PROOF CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.

coNsTRucTloN 0F BUILDINGS.

SPGIFlCATION -forming part of Letters Patent No. 468,296, dated February `2, 1892. Application iiled May 21,1889. Serial No. 311,556. (No model.)

llo all whom it may concern:

Be' it known that I, RAFAEL GUAsTAvINda citizen. of the United States, and a resident of New York, inthe county of New York and 5 State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in the Construction of Buildings, ot' which the following is a specification.

' My invention has reference to the coninstruction of tire-proof and other buildings, and relates more especially to the ceilings and roofs of such buildings.

lhe object of the invention is to devise means for supporting the ceiling, dac., which.

15 shall possess great strength, superior fireproof qualities, cheapness, and artistic or aesthetic conditions.4

The invention involves a new conception as to the utilization of ironand of clay pro' zo ducts in the construction of buildings, the.

iron being so employed that it will co-operate with the clay products (such as terracotta) in such manner as to compensate for the absence from the clay of qualities desirable for 2 5 it to possess, and on the other hand the clay in like manner so co-operating with the iron as to increase its eliiciency in performing the service for which it is especially employed.

In other words, I so combine the iron and theV 3o clay products that each fortiies the other by imparting each to the other some measure of the inherent quality possessed by them, respectively. 4It is well understood that a wroughtiron beam will dellect before it 35 breaks under excess of weight. This is the nature of wrought-'iron and its good quality.

(Jn the other hand, an arch of tile material laid in Portland cement or plaster, when subjected to excess of weight, will partake of no 4o sensible deflection, but will crush. In my present invention I socombine these two materials-wroughti ron and clay product-that any deflection of the iron involves a movement tending to crush the clay; but as the i 5 clay is depended upon to support by compression it will thereforeprevent the iron from deiiecting, so that the value of the iron in performing its function is dependent upon the strength of the tile material to resist 5o crushing, and hence if enough sectional area be given to the tile arch the iron cannot doect and consequently cannot break. Besides giving su'icient sectional area to the tile arch means should be provided to prevent the spreading of the supports of said 5g arch, since the crushing pressureis transferred into horizontal pressure, which is exerted against the supports or side walls where the girder rest-s. To accomplish this,lanchor the iron beam in the tile material through its' 6o entire length, and build and anchor it also in both side walls, by which construction the said horizontal pressure is resolved into the resistance that the iron beam has to tension.

-Thus I have both materials working in their 6 5 highest coelciency to `the resistance-1'. e., the iron to the tension and the clay product to the pressure. The econom) of this construction o'ver any construction in which the iron is employed to work bydellection merely 7o will be apparent when the fact is taken into account that the sectional area of an iron beam which is arranged to work by tension need be very small compared to the sectional arca required when the beam supporting the 7 5 same load is arranged to work by deflection. Furthermore, in all structures in which iron beams are employed special provision is made for their contraction and expansion under the conditions of heat and cold.

In making use of my present invention, wherein I envelop the iron beams in terracotta laid in Portland cement or plaster, no special arrangement of this nature is required, as changes in temperature will have no per- S5 ceptible etlect upon the beams. This feature ot' myinvention-namely, enveloping the iron ot the structure in the clay product-is iinportant on otheraccounts in carrying outthe general scheme of my present improvements. 9o

It is sometimes necessary' in the construction of a building to make use of a girdcr in lieu of a wall to support the overbeams. As now constructed this girder is ol' wood or iror and is surrounded by sham work in order to 9 5 give it proportions that will satisfy mechanical appearance, This sham work consists, generally, of pieces of wood, wire lathing, and plaster. Any unusual movcmentof the building-such as the settling of its walls-will so i eo affect a construction of this description as to rupture the same, and thus disclose its poor y ef. C

and unsubstantial qualities. Besides, it is im-y possible to impart fire-proof qualities to a construction of this natureand it is by no means economical, since the iron which it embodies' is very costly because of itsweight, and a number of different trades must be exercised in building it. To illustrate, an ironworkerisrequired 'to set the heavy beam, a carpenter to dothe wood-work, a man to apply the wire lathing, a plasterer, andamason, all of which signifies the expenditure of time and money, 'and when the structure is completed it is, as above explained, quite unsubstantial and entirely devoid of artistic conditions. Evenavhen there is no perceptible settling of the walls of a building containing girders of this description the drying of the wood willv cause the structure to crack, thus disturbing the Wire lathing and In in the enveloping plaster.

By my present improvementsl am enabled to erect girders embodying noue of the disadvantages of the commonly-employed gird ers and possessing the advantages of economy, strength,|and artistic conditions, besides being thoroughly nre-prooi".v

A girder built in accordance with my invention will embody only one-tenth part, of the iron now generally employed for such structures, and the iron beams which my construction embodies are so light that theycan be hoisted-to position and set by the mason without the assistance of an iron-worker, and as my construction embodies m'erely iron and a clay product but two trades are called into requisition in its erection.

To enable others interested iu the art to...

which my improvements relate to understand and make use of them,l will now describe the same more in detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which eform .a .part of this specification, wherein like features are dedicated by like figures of reference in all of the views, and wherein- Figure lis a transverse sectional view, partly in elevation, of'a vault embodying-myinvention. 2 is a cross-section on the linex of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is an end view of the double T-beam forming a part of the vault of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a view similar tov senting the, vault as flat instead of curved and embodying certain modifications in the form of the iron employed iu the vault. Fig. 5 is a cross-section through the line .y y of Fig. 4, and Fig. (i is a' cross-section illustrating another form of theiron elements adapted to be combined with' the `clay product ofthe vault shown in Fig. 4. y

In the drawings, 7 indicates t of a building, l for the vault, which may becurv'ed, as shown in Fig. 1, or flat, as shown in Fig. 4. In building the vault only wrought-iron and tiles laid in Portland cement or plasterare used. The form of the iron may vary, but preferably I will usea double T-beam 8 5 perforated trans versely its entire length and the perforations he side Walls aking ren ts twelve (12) inches long b Fig. 1, reprei structed. The tile m said walls serving as abutments provided with short rods or bars 9 of. about .three-quarters of aninch in diameter and from -sixto twelve inches long and extending equal distances on both sides of the beam and'preferably some distance beyond the ilange or iianges, so as to secure a good hold on the tiles surrounding such rods or bars, as shown in Fig. 3. The beam 8 will be as long as the span of the I vault, but will containonly aboutten percent. of the iron of the beams commonly used 1n I am enabled tomake the beam very light, because as employed by me it Works by tension and is not required to sustain anyl appreciable Weight at right angles to its crosssection.I There is evident economy in theemployment of a beam of this description not only on account of the comparatively small amountl of iron which it contains, but also'because it may beeasily handled and set bythe mason without the aid of an iron-worker, as heretofore mentioned. The beam 8 is anchored in the side walls, as shown, and is then enveloped by the tile material 10 of suilicient sectional area, an the iron in the fo being laid in Portland cement vor plaster and buildings.

ot tile best adapted for this purpose will be y six (6) inches Wide and three-fourths (il) of an inch thick. common. buildingbrick 'walls 7. are built o f, are for the present purposes. The result of this construction ofthe vault is that the whole length of the iron bea-m 8, with its transverse rods 9, will .be firmly anchored in the tile material. Whenever downward deflection of the iron beams8begins to take place the iiangesou the same, as well as the lateral projections 9 or cement orplast er in contact with such tiles and vwill be inett here by the great power ot resistance which tiles possess as far as crushu ing strain upon the same is concerned, the cement or plaster between the tiles serving to further transfer such strai and'to thereby reinforce the in direct contact with such f1 projections. The exposed or face surface of' thisvault will consist of'tiles that have been decorated before being built into the vault, either by carving or glazing, or by both :glas ing and carving, or in any other suitable manner, so ythat no subsequentdecoration to comw plete the artistic eiect will be necessary,` the construction itself furnishing the decoration,

or, in other words, .the decoration is contiles which are anges or lateral has its bearings in the side walls, asshown, and the twoy materials, iron and process of erecting the vault are so combined as to impart great solidity to the finished structure.

The manner in which a vault constructed as above described operates in'supporting a load has been already explained. The iron is so arranged as to do Aits work by tension and aterial of the vault also d'which is built up around rm of vault desired, the tiles preferably so as to break joints. The form s, such as the side'4 l not as wellv adapted IOO .and l2, will be pressed against adjoining-tiles A 1 Ivo n to other tiles,

clay, in the the tile material by compression. Excess of weightwill tend to spread the vault and crush the tile material; but the abutmentsjn the side walls prevent anyappreciable spreading thereof, and the effort to spread brings `into play the iron, which, Working by tension,

' supports the tile material, al1d thus resists the tendency of the tile material to crush, the tile material itselfbeing of sufficient sectional area to prevent theliron from deflecting. The short rods or bars 9 assist the beam 8 in resisting deflection, which they do byfserving as obstructions to the tendency of the beam to bend in the middle, every transverse rod 9 being practically a brace or bracket to resist the readjustment of themolecu-les of the metal that must take place when the beam is deflected from a straight line to a segmental curve. The effectof excess of weight on the Abeannis acrushing action on its transverse rods.

The" advantages of nry invention may be secured by employing various forms of iron, and the transverse rods 9 are not absolutely essential, though I prefer to make use of them.y In Figs. 4 and 5 I show the iron of the vault consisting 4ot a pai-r of angle-irons ot comparatively light weight and of alength equal to that of the span of the vault. These 3o angle-irons (also marked 8) have their bearings in the side walls, are provided with several of the transverse rods orV bars 9, as shown, aud are arranged so that their horizontal surfaces furnish the under surface of the vault and their vertical surfaces extend in'to they tile` material, as in. A

dicated in Fig. 5. In connection with these angle-irons I employ a series of anchors, cach consisting of a vertical member 11 of sheet metal, and a horizontal iron rod 12.V These anchors are bolted between the vertical surfaces'of 'the angle-irons, as shown, and when the vault is completed `the anchors will be firmly embeddedin the tilematerial. In this construction of the vault its lower surface will be covered with an'ornamental piece of terra-cotta 13, heldin place by nails 14:, as indicated'. This will add a finish to the vault and serve to conceal the lower surfaces of the angle-irons.

In Fig. 6 I show another modification'in the formof the iron of the vault, consisting of an inverted-T beam 8 and a series of pairs at which points they of anchors l5 of the form shown. The beam ris as long as the span ofthe vault and is completely embeddedin the tile material, as indicated, and each of the anchors 15 (which are about two feet long) has--one of` its angles resting onthe cross-barof the beam, WhileA its other angle is fixed in the surface tile 16,

as shown. The principle of operation of this construction is the same as that of the other constructions described. i

I am aware `that iron beams having lateral projections havel been embedded in bodies of concrete, cement, and artificial stone for thepurpose, principally, of guarding against' the cracking of such bodies resulting from un- 4 even drying and setting of the same. In such constructions a long time is required before the same will be capable of supporting the heavy loads for which they are designed, and besides there is no certainty that after such bodies' become dryand hard thywill be perfectly homogeneous; In my construction the composite beam or girder becomes service- `able much quicker, and# besides` allsections of the tile-work will-be equally reliable.

Having thusg described my invention, what I claim as new,- an'd desire to secure by LettersPatent, ils-4- 1. In the construction of buildings, a composite fire-proof vault or girder containing a flanged iron beam anchored in the side walls 'of a building, an arch or beam made of tiles extending along such hanged iron beam to such side walls, and lateral bars extending from such iron beam beyond its flanges and inserted in' the joints between the tiles, substantially as set forth.

2. In the constructionof buildings, a composite lire-proof vault or girder containing an iron I-beam anchored in the side walls of a building, an arch or beam' made of tiles extending along and enveloping such iron beam, and bolts or studs passing through the web of such I-beani and extendiug'on both sides of the same and inserted between the tiles of' such arch or beam, substantially as set forth. Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 16th day of May, A.Y D. 1889.

RAFAEL GUASTAVINO. Witnesses:

J. E. M. BOWEN, '.I. I. KENNEDY, 

